Unexpected Family - Unexpected Love
by FictionChic
Summary: Echo Morrigan is an Empath - she knows things...she feels things and she keeps secrets. One day, she is invited to a broken down apartment where she meets four strangers who all have one thing in common...magic. Together, they become The Five Horsemen and embark on a journey that becomes bigger than they ever thought possible.
1. Chapter 1

Echo took a deep breath and was halfway through a cartwheel when she stopped, easily going into a handstand and maneuvering her legs so that she was now resting in a middle split. Once she kicked over and had gone back to her standing position, she finished off with three pirouettes and a kick turn. She smiled warmly and laughed lightly at the crowd who had erupted into cheers and applause.

"Who would like to see a bit of magic before I go?" she called, a little sweaty from her aerial routine.

"Yes," someone shouted from the back, "Do magic!"

"Alright, alright," she laughed and held out her hand, wiggling her fingers slowly. "Now, watch carefully, look closely at the center of my hand. Are you watching?"

The simple rosebud bloomed in her palm and she couldn't help but chuckle at the audience's reaction of awe and wonder. It was one of her easier tricks as she wasn't the best at illusions, but it was still an effective crowd pleaser.

She flung her hand up and petals flew out everywhere, disintegrating into confetti, and showering the crowd. The cheers erupted around her and she grinned, waving. She blew a kiss, "Thank you everyone! You're all wonderful!"

Seeing that she had no more tricks or routines prepared, the crowd dispersed, murmuring to themselves excitedly about what they had just witnessed.

Satisfied, she hopped off the rock that she had been standing on and swiped up her black fedora with her usual trembling hands. She hummed to herself as dug through the small pile of bills and coins, "Not bad."

She pocketed the money and rolled her eyes when she reached the bottom of her hat. There were always those jerks who thought it would be funny to throw expired coupons or their trash into her hat.

"The hell?" she mumbled to herself. She began twisting the card she had picked up this and way and that. It was a tarot card. _The moon_ , it read underneath the picture in black, blocky letters. Turning it over once more, she narrowed her eyes at what was printed on the back:

 _ **March 29**_ _ **th**_

 _ **4:44PM**_

 _ **45 East Evan Street, NY**_

* * *

"Echo," a barista called out, placing a coffee cup on the counter, "Venti café latte with nonfat milk, two shots of espresso, two pumps of caramel, and a pump of vanilla."

"Thanks," tucking a strand of jet black hair behind her ear, Echo offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she swiped up her warmed cup. She sighed as she pushed her way through the small crowd of people that were gathered in the warm coffee shop. Why she had decided to move to crowded New York where nobody ever seemed to sleep – she didn't know.

Her wedge heels clicked along the cracked pavement as she gently pushed her way through the even more crowded sidewalks. She needed to get home. And fast.

She waved a thank you at the taxi driver who let her cross the street ahead of him and her shoulders instantly relaxed when she came upon the door of her small apartment.

Hands trembling, she stuck her key into the lock and pushed open the door and stumbled inside rather clumsily. She closed it with more force than necessary and her eyes fluttered closed as she basked in the heavy silence.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath when her watch beeped and took a sip from her coffee, "I'm going to be late."

She stripped off her pink sweatpants and replaced them with a pair of black leggings; she changed into a white crop top with a black denim jacket over it and applied red lipstick to her lips and black mascara to her eyelashes. She swiped a thin coat of winged eyeliner to her eyelids and changed her shoes to simple black flats.

Sooner that she would have liked, Echo was out the door again and rushing down the street. She grimaced as she weaved her way through the crowd. She had been outside less than a minute and already she could feel a migraine pulsing behind her eyes. If she didn't get to that place fast and find somewhere to sit down, she was going to pass out. And she was not in the mood to spend another day in the hospital where no one could do anything for her.

She cried out softly and gasped when she bumped into someone. She squeaked and would have fallen backwards, if it wasn't for the strong hand that wrapped around her wrist, "God, my coffee. Oh no, look at your shirt! I am so so sorry. Really, I didn't mean-

"Look, It's fine. Stop rambling," a male voice interrupted her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Echo fixed her jet black fedora and looked up at who had saved her from falling. It was a man who looked to be in his early twenties with unkempt dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a five o clock shadow, "I-I'm great."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking at her strangely, "You look-

"You're in a hurry to get somewhere," Echo mumbled, without thinking. She knelt down to pick up her purse and slung it over her shoulder, "You should go before you're late. I'm sorry for bumping into to you. It was my fault."

"How did you know I was in a hurry?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I," Echo looked up, "What? I didn't – I mean. I just – I guessed. This is New York, isn't it?"

"You dropped this," as if appearing out of nowhere, the man held out her tarot card, "It might be important."

"You got one too," Echo took it from his hand, "The Lover, right?"

"How did you-

"I'm an Empath," Echo smiled at him and held out her hand, "Echo Morrigan. You are?"

"J. Daniel Atlas," he replied, shaking her hand, "So what? You're expecting me to tell you all of my problems? You can feel my emotions?"

"Someone's irritated," Echo winked at him before she continued walking.

"You look like you're about to fall over," Atlas easily caught up with her, "Does being an Empath include looking like hell?"

"Yeah, well," Echo simply shrugged and continued walking.

" _Danny!"_

Echo turned her head to see a beautiful red head step out of a cab. She unconsciously scratched at her arm from the wave of intense emotions that she could feel from the couple meeting eyes. They obviously had some sort of history. Taking advantage of the distraction, Echo slipped inside the shabby apartment building that looked as though it would collapse at any moment.

She stopped suddenly as she climbed the stairs and squeezed herself into a nearby corner. There was someone already there. A man from what little she could see. She scrunched up her nose. The fact that she was in a rotting apartment building with strangers didn't seem very wise now that she thought more about it.

Just as she thought about making a run for it before anyone saw her, she heard voices echoing up the stairwell.

"I think you know exactly what I've been up to, Danny. I've seen all your _anonymous_ postings on my website."

"You have a website? That's good. Good for you. Get the word out."

"What the hell did you do to your shirt? Real classy."

"Some girl spilled coffee all over me. She had a card too."

"Really? So, where is this mystery girl?"

"Jealous?"

"In your – oh," gasped the red head clearly surprised to find someone else already waiting.

An older looking man who wore a hat much like Echo's arched a single eyebrow, "So apparently none of us were the only ones chosen? Let me be the first one to kick my ego to the curb."

"It's locked," he added, as Daniel took a step forward.

"Is it? I'll check," Atlas replied arrogantly as he pushed through anyway.

"You," the man in the hat pointed at the redhead, "Let me guess. No, don't tell me…ah, Helen? No…Henley."

"It's on your coffee cup," Atlas said just as Henley opened her mouth to reply. He was clearly not impressed.

Echo frowned as the two men continued to bicker. What had she gotten herself into?

The mentalist raised his hand to his head squinting hard as he focused on Daniel, "Wait, wait, wait. I'm sensing…you're a control freak."

"I'm sorry have we met before?"

Echo sighed as quietly as she could, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. She was exhausted and the bickering between Daniel and Merritt was already getting old. She just wanted to know what this whole thing was about before she decided to make her presence known.

"Oh come _on_ , Danny," Henley grinned, taking a sip from her coffee cup, "It doesn't take a mentalist to figure out that you're a control freak."

"Well, I take that as a compliment," Danny answered, nodding at him curtly.

Henley rolled her eyes and turned back to Merritt, "Only he would take that as a compliment."

"Good another compliment," Atlas retaliated quickly, "Keep going, you're doing great."

"So, that's why you two are no longer a couple," the mentalist stated more than asked, leaning back on his heels, "I see."

"N-no," Henley stuttered out, "No. We were never a couple. He used to saw me in half."

"She was a very good assistant," Daniel said.

"But I was too fat for, Danny," Henley added matter-of-factly.

"Okay, I said that one time because of the trapdoor…"

"No one could fit through there," Henley exclaimed, "No one!"

"Rebecca fit," Daniel said almost smugly, "Rebecca fit for years."

Echo shuttered with the frustration she could feel radiating from Henley. She looked like she wanted to dump her coffee on Atlas' head and then throw him down the stairs.

"Do you know how _hard_ it is to fit into those tiny little costumes?"

"No. Of course not. I'm the main attraction, remember?" Atlas smirked.

"Okay, okay," Merritt held up a hand, making his presence known once more, "So, he never made you feel special – and trust me when I say that you deserve to be made to feel special," he winked at Henley.

"Wow, cute," Atlas muttered, turning to leave, "That's a really nice story; I hope you enjoy each other's company."

Echo stiffened once more. Someone was coming. She couldn't help but smile as excitement flooded throughout her body. It was almost overwhelming.

A boy, who looked to be barely in his twenties, rounded the stairwell. As soon as his eyes landed upon Daniel, he gasped, "No way, man! J. Daniel Atlas? Dude, I have seen _everything_ you've ever done. Man, you are like – I-I idolize you. Seriously!"

Atlas immediately perked up and he held out a hand for the new kid to shake, "A true fan. So nice to meet you."

"Oh," the boy blinked, finally noticing the others crowded around the front of the door, "I'm Jack, by the way."

"Question," Merritt held up his tarot card, "Did you get one of these?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack nodded and dug through the pockets of his leather jacket and held up the card once he had found it, "Death."

"The High Priestess," Henley stated, lifting up her card as well.

Daniel held up his, "The Lover."

Henley unsuccessfully tried to hide her laugh with a fake cough, "Three minutes."

"The Hermit," the mentalist muttered, holding up his card with two fingers.

Pursing her lips, Echo squeezed her eyes shut and stepped out of her hiding place, "The Moon," she said shakily, holding up her card.

"Oh," Henley jumped, almost spilling her coffee.

"I told you," Atlas mumbled.

"Whoa," Jack grinned, looking thoroughly impressed.

"About time you entered the conversation, sweetheart," Merritt smirked.

"How did you know?" Echo frowned.

"I saw you escaping from lover boy," Merritt gestured to Daniel, "Good call."

"So, what exactly do you do?" Atlas questioned as he stepped forward, obviously trying to regain control of the conversation, "Besides watching people from dark corners and being a therapist?"

"You're a therapist?" Henley asked.

"I'm an Empath," Echo corrected, narrowing her eyes at Daniel, "And somewhat of an illusionist, an aerialist, a dancer, and a pick-pocket if necessary."

Jack grinned and nodded, "Nice."

"Ahhh," Merritt looked Echo up and down, "An Empath? Rare, but not unheard of. No wonder you're so…guarded."

"What's your name?" Henley asked, clearly happy about having another girl in the group.

"Echo Morrigan," she smiled at Henley, "Sorry about scaring you. I figured it would be nice to know what was going on and who was going to be involved, before I made my presence known."

Jack cleared his throat nervously, "What are we… umm. Are we waiting for someone?"

"The doors locked," Merritt told him.

Jack almost laughed and he shook his head amusedly, "No, nah. Nothing's – nothing's ever locked."

He knelt down in front of the locked door of apartment 6A and drew a peculiar looking tool from his pocket. Tilting his head to the side in concentration, he pushed it into the keyhole and grinned when it clicked, the old door swinging open, "That's more like it."

"What is this place?" Henley was the first to enter, shinning her flashlight around the dark apartment.

"And I thought my place was gross," Merritt scrunched up his nose in disgust, peering into the filthy bathroom that smelled heavily of mold.

"It's freezing in here," Jack rubbed his hands together and pulled his jacket tighter around himself.

"I don't think anyone has been here in years," Echo commented, "This place is falling apart."

They entered what looked to be some sort of living room. It was dark and the blinds were drawn. It was completely empty apart from the few items that littered the dusty the floor: a single white rose, a vase full of water, and a card that was placed in front of some geometric symbol etched into the floor.

"What is that?" Henley's shined her flashlight onto the floor, trying to get a better look.

"I don't know," Atlas bent down and picked up the card, quickly stepping back as if he was worried that he would set off some sort of trap.

"What does it say?" Merritt asked, trying to look at the card for himself.

"Now You Don't," Danny read, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Echo smiled and picked up the rose, twirling it between her fingers, "A rose by any other name," she sang, quoting Shakespeare as she dropped it into the vase.

As soon as the flower had been dropped in, the water began draining from the vase.

"Guys, what's happening?" Jack asked, slightly panicked.

"Wow," Echo breathed, stepping forward to get a closer look.

"This is amazing," Henley said with awe, watching as the stream ran along the shape, filling it to the brim. Once full, the marks descended a few inches and began emitting a cold, thick, white fog.

"Get back," Jack pulled Echo away, "It's gas!"

"Relax," Merritt muttered, waving some of the smoke away with his arm, "It's just dry ice."

"This can't be real," Henley chuckled, shaking her head, although Echo could feel her nervousness.

Daniel shook his head as well, his usual arrogant expression gone, "Wait, what do you think this is all about?"

Merritt put one hand to his temple and closed his eyes, concentrating on something only he could see. "Hang on, hang on…" after a few seconds of intense silence had passed, Merritt's shoulders slumped and he opened his eyes, "I got nothing."

"Okay, thank you. Thank you for that delay," Daniel replied sarcastically.

"I'm just trying to create the space for wisdom," Merritt held up his hands in surrender.

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Okay, so – so you're like Buddha, if he wasn't so enlightened? Great, got it."

"And you're like Jesus if he was arrogant and all his miracles were fake," Merritt shot back quickly.

Henley laughed and shook her head at the two grown men, "Enough. Danny, be honest, did you do this?"

"No. Wait, did you?" Danny pointed to Jack.

Jack's eyes widened as if he was surprised that he would even be considered the culprit. Finally, he grinned a little nervously, "Well, no. I wish."

All of their eyes turned to Echo and she shook her head quickly, sending black hair flying, "No. No way."

"Why didn't anyone ask if I did it?" Merritt asked loudly. When none of the others answered, he frowned and threw up his hands, "Great. Really, that's wonderful."

Daniel had gone off to the side of the room, flicking the light switch back and forth. Nothing happened.

"Electricity's out," Jack called from a different spot in the room.

Merritt glanced up at one of the rusted overhead lights that he had been standing under He reached up to one of the light bulbs and tapped it gently, "Well, let's check," he muttered, and then twisted the bulb.

To everyone's surprise, the lights slowly flickered on, as did a handful of blue lights from the corners of the room. The beams hit together in the center, and up popped a revolving diagram.

"What is this?" Echo reached out a hand to touch it and gasped when it went through, "Oh, wow."

"Blueprints," Henley breathed, stepping forward to get a closer look.

"They're incredible," Daniel added.

"Who do you think did this?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Henley answered, a bright smile on her face, "But I _really_ want to meet them."

"It's a show," Echo announced, getting a closer look, "I think – we have to do this together."

"We have to what?" Daniel moved to stand next to Echo and placed a hand on her shoulder to move her aside. His eyes scanned the hologram quickly and he pursed his lips, "She's right. It is a show."

"Are we really going to do this?" Henley asked, her eyes darting towards each person.

"Hell yeah," Jack nodded, speaking for everyone in the room.


	2. Rewrite?

**Hello, all!**

 **It's been a long time. If you follow any of my other stories, then you know that I've been doing some serious reinventing and reevaluating of my work and have even gone as far as to completely delete some of my most popular stories.**

 **I constantly scroll down my 'Manage Stories' page to check reviews, upload/delete chapters, check when what has been updated, e.t.c-and tonight, I was watching** ** _'Now You See me_** ** _'_** **(one of my favorite movies) and I remembered this story! Obviously, I haven't updated in awhile and the last review was posted in 2016.**

 **I checked the FanFiction section and it's such a small fandom. Even with the new movie that had come out, not a lot has been posted/updated and the stories don't receive a lot of traffic, but that's okay. While rewatching my favorite movie, I got a sudden burst of inspiration.**

 **So, if all goes well, then I'm thinking of rewriting and republishing this story. What do you guys think?**

 **Thanks,**

 **FictionChic**


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